WRHS Class of 2017 ‘always came through’

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Woodland Regional High School Class of 2017 graduate Angelina Padilla, left, adjusts fellow graduate Adem Rifati’s cap before graduation Monday night at the school in Beacon Falls. –ELIO GUGLIOTTI

BEACON FALLS — As the weather turned stormy outside, laughter, cheers and tears filled the Woodland Regional High School gym on Monday as the members of the Class of 2017 celebrated their last night together as high school students.

“I have learned so much from the amazing humans I call my classmates, and I am beyond excited to see what the future has in store for us. While the journey is now coming to an end I can only hope the Class of 2017 will remember our best times,” said Class of 2017 President Alyssa Varesio as she addressed her 156 classmates and the friends, family and faculty that filled the gym for the graduation ceremony.

Varesio pointed to all the accomplishments the class has been a part of the past four years, including the girls outdoor track team’s run of five straight Naugatuck Valley League titles, the volleyball team winning the Class M state championship, the popularity of the school’s drama club, and raising the most money in the school’s history.

Varesio said she has been kept awake at night the past four years thinking about the moment when she would address her class, and it seemed like an eternity away four years ago.

(See more photos from graduation)

For graduate Jack Walsh, Monday was a day he never expected to celebrate.

Walsh was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma, a type of cancer, three years ago. He was supposed to graduate last year, but missed a year of school as he underwent treatment. He made up the lost credits this year. Walsh is still getting scans, but no longer receiving treatment for the cancer, he said.

“A lot of people helped me to make it possible,” said Walsh, who plans to take a few classes at Naugatuck Valley Community College next fall and see how it goes.

Woodland Principal Kurt Ogren holds a special affinity for the Class of 2017 for two reasons.

Woodland Regional High School Class of 2017 President Alyssa Varesio addresses her classmates and the audience during graduation Monday night at the school in Beacon Falls. –ELIO GUGLIOTTI

“One, we started together four years ago. Their first day at Woodland was my first day at Woodland,” Ogren said. “Second, and more importantly, when it mattered the most the Class of 2017 always came through and always chose to do the right thing,” Ogren said.

Ogren spoke about how a baby giraffe learns to walk, by being constantly knocked over by its mother until it is strong enough to stand on its own legs. He explained the calf needs to learn how to get up so it will not become prey in the wild.

Getting knocked down builds strength, Ogren said, and the ability to stand back up is one found in all successful people.

“Don’t ever look back in regret or waste any more time dwelling on failures or negative experiences,” Ogren told the class. “Simply learn from them. Go from this day forward and follow your passion in life.”

Valedictorian Allison Mayne used the game Jenga as a metaphor for the class’ time spent and Woodland and what lies ahead.

“We were built up with the guided help of parents and teachers. Obstacles like a bad test grade tried to knock us down. We had to build ourselves back up,” Mayne said.

Woodland Regional High School Class of 2017 graduates Sabina Kica, left, and Lindsey Gabianelli take a selfie before graduation Monday night at the school in Beacon Falls. –ELIO GUGLIOTTI

Mayne continued, “Whether we go into the workforce, military or college, the next step is to start pulling blocks out without knocking the structure over. Like in the game Jenga, choices in life are crucial. We can choose to give up and be lazy or we can choose to succeed. It is not always easy.”

The struggles the graduates faced during their time at Woodland only made them stronger, Salutatorian Abigail Meliso said. Although the future may be scary, she said they can rely on themselves and the people who helped get them this far.

“This past year each one of has said something along the lines of, ‘I can’t wait to get out of here.’ Well, now the time has come, and we stand upon a precipice, a cliff. We have no idea what lies ahead of us, but we have to trust in ourselves and the people who have helped us arrive here that we will be able to take that first step, and hopefully fly to reach our goal,” Meliso said.

Meliso said the graduates are filled with self-confidence and ambition thanks to their time spent at Woodland. As she looked over her classmates, Meliso had just one question to ask them.

“Do you think the world is ready for us?”

The Republican-American contributed to this story.